Stranger Things: Attack of the Mind Flayer Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Game Elements
• Setup
  • If You're Playing with 6 to 10 Players
• Gameplay Overview
  • Player Turn
  • Important Rules
• Adventure Cards
  • Mind Flayer and Memories
  • Hard Hit and Helping Hand
  • Waffle
• Meeting Cards
• During a Meeting
• Contents
• End of the Game
  • If Playing a Series of Games
• Strategic Suggestions
• Reference Panels (Page 8)
  • During a Meeting
  • Effects of Adventure Cards

Goal of the Game

Two teams are going head-to-head: Sane versus Possessed characters.

As a Sane character, resist the Mind Flayer's attacks to win the game.

As a Possessed character, make sure all Sane players are Possessed or knocked out by the end of the game.

Game Elements

• Adventure cards
• Meeting cards
• Character tiles (each with an In Play side and a Knocked Out side)

Setup

Example for 4 players.

1. Each player takes a Character tile and places it in front of them, In Play side up.

2. Sort the Adventure cards:

   • With 4 or 5 players, put all cards with the 6+ and 9+ player symbols back in the box.
   • With 6 to 8 players, put all cards with the 9+ player symbol back in the box.
   • With 9 or 10 players, play with all the cards.

3. From those Adventure cards, take the number of Mind Flayer and Waffle cards shown in the table below. Shuffle these cards and give one, facedown, to each player. Look at your card secretly. Each player with a Mind Flayer card is Possessed until the end of the game. The other players are Sane... for now!

   Players	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
   Mind Flayer	1	1	2	2	2	3	3
   Waffle

If You're Playing with 6 to 10 Players

• Ask all players to close their eyes.
• Then, ask the Possessed players to open their eyes to see who else is Possessed. Five seconds later, ask them to close their eyes again.
• Finally, ask all players to open their eyes and start the game.

Gameplay Overview

Starting with the youngest player, take turns playing clockwise.

Player Turn

On your turn, flip over the top card of the deck and put it on the table so that all players can see it:

• If it's an Adventure card, you must give it to any other player still in play, who adds it to their hand. You can freely discuss with other players before making your decision. However, you cannot keep the card for yourself.
• If it's a Meeting card, immediately resolve its effect. Then all players participate in a Meeting (see During a Meeting below).

Finally, the player to your left takes their turn.

Important Rules

• You can never show your cards, unless a Meeting card tells you to.
• You can bluff: you can say anything you like about the cards in your hand, no matter if it's true or false.

Adventure Cards

In this game, there are 5 types of Adventure cards with various effects, as follows:

Mind Flayer and Memories

As soon as you have 3 Mind Flayer cards in hand, you immediately become Possessed. But each Memories card cancels a Mind Flayer card!

If you are Possessed, you secretly join the Mind Flayer's team until the end of the game. There is no going back, even if you gain Memories cards afterwards. From now on, your goal is to make all other players Possessed!

Example: Matt has 4 Mind Flayer cards and 2 Memories cards in hand, so he is not yet Possessed. On his turn, Ross gives him a Mind Flayer card. Matt immediately becomes Possessed since he has 3 Mind Flayer cards that aren't canceled. He doesn't say anything out loud, but he's now on the other team!

Hard Hit and Helping Hand

As soon as you have at least 3 Hard Hit cards in hand, you are immediately knocked out and must announce it to the other players. But each Helping Hand card cancels a Hard Hit card!

If you are knocked out, turn over your Character tile to its Knocked Out side and slide all your cards underneath it, facedown. You can't speak, take turns, or participate in Meetings for the rest of the game. But you will win or lose with your team!

Note: If a Sane player becomes Possessed and is knocked out at the same time, they are knocked out, but are now on the Possessed team.

Waffle

These cards have no gameplay effects, but are worth points when playing a series of games (see End of the Game).

Meeting Cards

When you draw a Meeting card, read it out loud, resolve its effect, then put it back in the box. Effects of Meeting cards only apply to players still in play, including you.

During a Meeting

Once you resolve the card effect, no one can speak. All players still in play choose 2 cards from their hand. They give 1 to the player on their left and 1 to the player on their right. These cards are placed, facedown, under their Character tiles.

When all in play players have received 2 cards, everyone takes their cards and shuffles them without looking. Finally, each player looks at the cards and adds them to their hand.

Important:

• During the Meeting, only Possessed players may give away Mind Flayer cards. Sane players must always keep them in their hands!
• When a player does not participate in a Meeting (they are knocked out or from a card effect), ignore them and give your card to the next player.

The Meeting ends and the game continues normally.

Contents

58 Adventure cards (20 x Mind Flayer, 16 x Hard Hit, 12 x Waffle, 5 x Memories, 5 x Helping Hand), 12 Meeting cards, 10 Character tiles and this rulebook.

End of the Game

The game ends in two ways:

• As soon as there are only 1 or 2 in play players, or
• After the 3rd Meeting is fully resolved.

Then, all players count to 3 and:

• All Possessed players start growling to call the Mind Flayer to them.
• Followed by all Sane players still in play who stand up and applaud.

If there is at least one Sane player still in play, all Sane players (in play and knocked out) win the game. Otherwise, the Possessed players (in play and knocked out) win the game.

If Playing a Series of Games

At the end of each game, players on the winning team (including knocked out players) gain 1 point, plus 1 point per Waffle card in hand. After 3 games, the player with the most points is the ultimate winner!

Strategic Suggestions

• For Possessed players: You must be ruthless during the game, even if it may attract suspicion! Attack your neighbors in the 1st Meeting by giving them Mind Flayer cards. But never admit to your role or you'll risk getting knocked out.
• For Sane players: If you receive a Mind Flayer card during a Meeting, this means at least one player next to you is Possessed! Try to identify them and give them Hard Hit cards to get them knocked out.

Reference Panels (Page 8)

Printed as sidebars on the last page of the rulebook.

During a Meeting

• Sane players can never give away a Mind Flayer card from their hand.
• Knocked out players don't participate in Meetings. Skip over them and give your card to the next player.
• Shuffle the cards you receive before looking at them.

Effects of Adventure Cards

• 3 uncanceled Mind Flayer cards and you become Possessed.
• 3 uncanceled Hard Hit cards and you become knocked out.
• Cancel 1 Mind Flayer card.
• Cancel 1 Hard Hit card.